BooksEtc.

Friday, October 12, 2012

My youngest began his
clerkship (or, as it’s called in the U.S. and on medical television shows, internship) this fall.His first placement is with the
Psychiatry Department of a local hospital.

Bad News

I overheard him talking with
one of his brothers – he’s ACTUALLY spent some time considering diagnoses that
might be suitable for me!!His
dear sweet mother.I’m not quite
sure whether to be touched by his concern or pissed off that he thinks I’m
nuts.Or borderline nuts.It’s one thing for me to admit to a
certain (minor) level of craziness – it’s another to be labeled certifiably so.

Good News

He couldn’t find one!Apparently, my (few) obsessive traits,
astounding leaps of logic and quirky uniqueness don’t even come close to being
considered a medical condition worth labeling or diagnosing.

“So far,” he noted.Ominously.

“Best watch yourselves,” I
responded.“The apple doesn’t fall
far from the tree.Actually, there’s
no way it possibly could unless there was a fierce wind, but anyway, apples
falling from trees might land on your head so be careful in apple
orchards.And always listen to
your mother.”

They exchanged glances and
grins.I grinned, too.I was just messing with their
minds.Truly.

The fact the above makes
perfect sense to me?I’m not
telling any of my kids –particularly son # 3.I happen to think complete sanity is highly overrated.I’m also going to start keeping some of
my thoughts to myself.

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

If forty is the new thirty,
fifty the new forty, sixty the new fifty and so on – when do you ever get a
chance to relax?To age gracefully
with peace and dignity?

If the above are rallying
cries for holding on to one’s youthful spirit and enthusiasm - great.But if they’re merely in regard to
appearance?Then I find them
oppressive, time consuming and ridiculous.

I’ve decided to embrace
aging.Not to the extent of
finding each wrinkle endearing and letting everyone know its origin (“…and this one was created when I
accidently dropped my second son over a cliff…”) but in the sense of
withdrawing from the battle, the laying down of weapons.Which isn’t particularly difficult to
do since I’ve never been fully engaged in the battle.My only weapon has been hair dye.*However, I’ve always been very aware of that not-so-subtle
pressure to RETAIN YOUR YOUTHFUL LOOKS. I’ve finally had enough.I’M NOT LISTENING ANYMORE.

I don’t count basic
moisturizer a weapon, I don’t wear make-up (skin sensitivity) and I’ve never
had “work” done.Truly.Unless you count wart removal cosmetic
surgery.Which I don’t and nor
should you.A wart on the bottom
of your foot really, really hurts – but I digress…

As for those five lbs. that
keep coming and going?Well, they’re
welcome to stay.I’m not fighting
them any more.Those determined
little buggers can take over the areas they’ve been coveting for years – my
belly and hips.I don’t care.Mi casa es su casa.

If my sisters and certain
friends are reading this, I promise I will not let myself go completely. I will maintain certain standards and you’ll still be okay
being seen with me in public.I
just might look like your mother rather than a contemporary.And I’ll be wearing an
always-in-fashion, ageless, contented and happy smile.

an
unretouched photo depicting a DIY wrinkle remover gesture by a crazed woman

*Confession – a bit of vanity remains - I think I’ll
give up the hair dye next summer – have my head shorn - retreat to the cottage
and see what appears…

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The above?Fridge magnets given to me as gifts by
those who know me well.The
sentiments expressed in each are rather close to home but not quite all the way
there.Yet.

They may be verging on “sad
but true” but since they’re all so spot on in depicting certain aspects of my
life (with some exaggeration) the humour factor trumps any “poor-pitiful-me”
factor.Each one makes me smile.

And isn’t that what humour
is all about?Its origins in
reality and truth – its laughter and smiles in the exaggeration.

May I never be too stressed,
too preoccupied with pain – or too forgetful – to smile and laugh.

Credits: I scanned two of my magnets but the other one is at
the cottage – so I used Google images – hence the wording on that image

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

If you identified the
objects embedded in my tire as porcupine quills, you’d win a prize.If there was one.Which there isn’t.

Perhaps the fact I find this
picture amusing brands me as hard-hearted and insensitive.If so, my immediate family shares the
same affliction(s).If you’re
offended by our amusement, let me assure you we do not find the death of any
living creature laughable.It’s
the existence and location of the undisputed evidence as to this particular
porcupine’s demise that struck our funny bones.

I’m not the guilty party –
nor will I identify which of my sons is the porcupine assassin.He feels badly enough for having smoked
that critter.(Last summer another
of my sons was responsible for the death of a wild turkey on the highway.We left a blizzard of feathers in our
wake.)

Further amusement was
provided for my sons courtesy of yours truly.When they began pulling the porcupine quills out of my tire,
my worry-prone tendencies (crazies?) kicked in.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

I’m heading to the cottage
earlier than expected so didn’t have time to create a moving, tear-jerker of a “farewell
for the summer” post.Not that I could
have – I’m struggling with my blog.While I happen to find my life interesting (and life in general)
apparently I’m temporarily (?) incapable of translating such interest into
words.(The written word – I’m still capable of speech.)My sojourn at the cottage grants me a
bit of a reprieve from this dilemma.Since the internet connection is iffy, I won’t be doing any regular blog
posting.

By summer’s end, it will be
interesting to see how many bloggers are still hanging in there.Many of those I follow(ed) are either
blogging sporadically or have packed it in.Burn-out?Blogger’s-block?Facebook?Twitter?I
should really update my blog link list.Thus far, a combination of sentimentality, wishful thinking and laziness
has kept me from doing so.